Warning! Spoilers for Green Lantern by DC Comics
By hinting at a romance with an alien nurse during Green Lantern's Hal Jordan's most recent ongoing series, writer Grant Morrison wanted to suggest that the hero "would tend towards a pansexual persuasion." For Jordan, the reveal about wanting to have the character be pansexual actually makes perfect sense. As Morrison puts it, with the whole universe at his disposal, Jordan would tend towards a more broad-minded approach when it comes to romantic partners.
Pansexuality is becoming a more and more common identifier in both the real world and fiction, as the all-encompassing term represents those who are romantically, emotionally, and sexually attracted to people regardless of their gender. Jack Harkness from Doctor Who, Lando Calrissian from Star Wars, and Klaus Gargreeves in The Umbrella Academy are among pansexual characters in media. In the world of comics, Loki and John Constantine would also both identify as pansexual, given their past romantic interests. In a recent newsletter, legendary comic book writer Grant Morrison revealed they intended to suggest Hal Jordan was also pansexual, which fits the character, given all readers know about the Green Lantern.
In a recent Substack post, Grant Morrison discussed their run on Green Lantern alongside artist Liam Sharp. When talking about the introduction of Nurse Leylo Olaqua in issue two, Morrison revealed they intended to suggest Hal Jordan had a past romantic relationship with the alien nurse. In Morrison's words, Jordan "with a whole universe of worlds at his disposal would tend towards a pansexual."
The full reveal never made it into the series, as the planned story was one of the casualties of the editorial changes at DC Comics and the comic's shorted run following low sales. It's a shame the story never came to fruition officially because Hal Jordan being pansexual not only would increase representation in the pages of DC Comics, but it would make sense for the hero. Hal Jordan, despite his past conservative leanings, has had relationships with non-Earthlings before. Given the amount of time he spends away from Earth while venturing across the galaxy, Jordan having a more open approach to his romantic partnerships fits the hero.
Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp's run on the Green Lantern was such a refreshing change of pace for the hero, so it's a bummer the creative team couldn't officially reveal Hal Jordan being pansexual. Hopefully, Morrison's idea comes back around one day, as the DC Comics hero being pansexual wouldn't change the hero in significant ways storywise but would add representation for pansexual readers. Until then, Morrison's suggestion and planned storyline are as close as fans will get to the Green Lantern's pansexual identity getting confirmed.
Source: Grant Morrison - Substack